Zdravko Logarušić (born 21 October 1965) is a Croatian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

. Overall, he has coached in

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Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

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. In 2001, Logarušić took coaching courses to get a

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

Career

Gor Mahia

Chosen as Gor Mahia boss in 2012, he vowed to end the clubs 18-year wait to win the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

trophy. In winter 2012, Logarušić was expected to be back for the pre-season training before the new season. He was relieved of duties in June 2013. In his defense, Logarušić demurred that he did not have a work permit and lived in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

on a

tourist visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

. Secondly, he raised issue about evident lack of formal contract with the Nairobi-based team. Female fans criticized the board for his dismissal.

Simba

After leaving

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, Logarušić was offered a relatively high salary from

Simba SC Simba is a fictional character in Disney's '' The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in '' The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is murdered by his treacherous uncle, Scar, who manipul ...

to coach them and took the offer. When he got Simba SC good results, the Tanzanian outfit bought him a house overlooking the beachfront. Unfortunately, he could not speak

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

which hindered him from communicating fluently with the Tanzanian press. Half a year later, his contract was cancelled. Logarušić demanded TSh 3.6 million from Simba SC as requital for the club unprocedurally cancelling his contract. Still, the club refused to pay him as they said the amount charged was too exorbitant and that he had made a wrongful claim.

AFC Leopards

Back in 2015, the well-traveled coach was selected as coach for

AFC Leopards Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, officially abbreviated as AFC Leopards, is a Kenyan professional football club based in Nairobi. It currently competes in the Kenyan Premier League, the top tier of the Kenyan football league syst ...

of the

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League, is a professional league for men's football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Foo ...

. Afterward, he parted ways with them when he sent a text message to them stating that he quit the club as 'he was forced to go back to Croatia because no one was taking care of his rent' and that he was evicted from his apartment.

Asante Kotoko

A year later, ahead of the 2017 Ghanaian Premier League, he was appointed boss of

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional sports, professional association football, football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''African crested ...

which was the third time he managed in Ghana. To incentivize him, the Ghanaian side bestowed a new car on him a month into the new season. As Asante Kotoko's manager, he invariably used the 3-5-2 formation which exasperated the fans. Using that formation, he got them ten points in four games and temporarily placed them second in the table. Fired by Asante Kotoko in April 2017 after winning five out of eleven games, Logarušić labelled the Asante Kotoko management as 'liars'.

Sudan

Logarušić became manager of the Sudan national team in December 2017. He was removed from the position on 30 November 2019.

Zimbabwe

On 29 January 2020, Logarušić was appointed coach of the Zimbabwe national team. In March 2021, Logarušić guided the Warriors to their fifth

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

qualification. On 12 September 2021 Logarušić was dismissed by the Zimbabwean FA following a poor string of results. A loss to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and a goalless draw against South Africa in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers saw pressure mounting on the local football body to take action after getting just one win out of his 14 games with the national team.

Al-Batin

On 19 February 2023, Logarušić was appointed as manager of Saudi Arabian club

Al-Batin Bāṭin or baten () literally means "inner", "inward", "hidden", etc. The Quran, for instance, has a hidden meaning in contrast to its exterior or apparent meaning, the zahir (zaher). Sufis believe that every individual has a batin in the worl ...

following the sacking of Alen Horvat.

Al-Tai

On 16 April 2025, Logarušić was appointed as manager of

Saudi First Division League The Saudi First Division League (), currently known as the Yelo League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia. It ranks below the Saudi Pro League and above the Saudi Second Division League in the ...

club Al-Tai.

References